26 Nov 2016 No Comments
I have found composting to be a persistent challenge, and I have yet to successfully produce a pile of nicely composted material for my garden. Over the last 6 years I’ve tried the square bale method, the 4 cubic yard regularly turned on schedule approach, the enclosed 3-bay compost bin, and one of those plastic(…)
05 Feb 2016 No Comments
“The job of peasants, you might say, is to stay out of the archives.” –John Scott, “The Art of Not Being Governed” A half dozen years ago I made an important realization: I am a peasant. The word came to me from biologist and plant breeder Carol Deppe, through a comment she made in one(…)
15 Jan 2016 No Comments
Philosophical Considerations Carol Deppe (in “Food in Uncertain Times”) argues that survival depends upon access to just 5 foods: corn, potatoes, beans, squash, and eggs. Of course she’s thinking of homegrown produce, both because in “uncertain times” we need to be able to provide for ourselves and because homegrown, organic food is considerably healthier than(…)
10 Dec 2014 No Comments
In my last post I quoted David Holmgren, a co-founder of Permaculture, who says we should think about what is worth investing in by asking ourselves whether an investment will benefit our children and grandchildren. That perspective was common to our ancestors just 2 and 3 generations ago, before we became so highly dependent upon meeting our(…)
13 Aug 2014 No Comments
My attention has moved from annual crop production to long-term, permanent crop production. I am certain that real wealth will not be found in bank accounts and retirement accounts – which the Federal Reserve is systematically destroying (whether intentionally or out of ignorance and hubris I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter). Wealth is to(…)
05 Dec 2013 No Comments
Farming has taken on a new seriousness for me, so I have violated my initial principle of doing everything on the cheap. This last summer, for example, I bought a 17′ x 28′ greenhouse. I did get it used, of course, for about 1/3 its new price, and at a third less than the seller(…)
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